Afterlives of Komitas K‘eömurchean (1656-1707): Commemorating an Istanbul-Armenian Martyr in Armeno-Turkish Literature and Sacred Pilgrimag

Abstract

Komitas K‘eōmurchean (1656-1707) was an Istanbul-Armenian priest and the younger brother of the prolific writer Eremia K‘eōmurchean. While Eremia was an Apostolic Armenian layman, Komitas was a clergyman known for his Catholic learnings, which brought him into conflict with leading Apostolic churchmen. Ultimately, he was sentenced to death before an Ottoman court and executed. After his death, Komitas’ grave became a site of ecumenical veneration for Armenians of all denominations, along with some Greeks and Muslims. This article describes how Komitas was commemorated after his death in Armeno-Turkish literature (Turkish written in the Armenian alphabet), and it presents transcriptions and translations of the Ottoman court record of Komitas’ trial and of his tombstone’s Armenian inscription. The article sheds light on Armenian Catholic history in the early modern period, and it contextualizes Komitas’ life and afterlife among broader trends in Ottoman cultural history, namely “neo-martyrs” and sites of sacred pilgrimage.